


whenever i'm alone with you

by hanyolo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, i guess, set vaguely during second half of season four
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 15:52:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19232260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanyolo/pseuds/hanyolo
Summary: “How do you feel about grand romantic gestures?”Killian eyes the boy warily, seems to realise he doesn’t really have much of a choice if he wants to speak to Emma anytime soon.“Go on.”“Like in the movies we’ve been watching. You could sing to her, or run after her in an airport, or meet her at the top of the Empire State Building.”// Killian tries to navigate his and Emma's first fight with Henry's help





	whenever i'm alone with you

Neither of them is really sure how the fight started, or what it was about for that matter. But it ends with Emma storming out the loft and Killian kicking the kitchen counter so hard he worries he may have broken a toe. 

Emma had said something about him keeping secrets from her and he had gotten all defensive, demanding to know why she still didn’t trust him and why she still put her walls up around him. Then they spent the next half hour or so shouting and screaming at each other, bringing up the others insecurities. Until, finally, she had stormed out. 

Killian waits five minutes, to make sure he won’t run into her on the street, before he leaves for the docks. It’s the middle of December so he’s not spent much time aboard his ship and most nights have been spent in Emma’s bed. When she discovered him sleeping on the Jolly Roger one particularly frosty night, she had rolled her eyes and called him an idiot. Then told him to pack a bag and come with her to the loft. And that’s where he’s been staying for the past couple of weeks. However, he doubts he’d be welcome at the moment. 

So he crawls into his bunk, wraps himself in every blanket he can find, and falls into a cold and restless sleep. 

 

It’s been five days since he last spoke to Emma and Killian is beginning to wonder if he should track her down and apologise. 

And not just because he thinks he may freeze to death if he spends another night on his ship. He misses her and he needs her to know how truly sorry he is that he hurt her, however unintentional it was. But he’s also scared that she’ll turn him down, tell him that she’s come to her senses, that she’s finally realised he’s not good enough for her. And because a tiny part of him is stubborn enough to wait for her to apologise to him.

 

After spending nearly a week avoiding anywhere he might run into Emma, Killian goes to Granny’s for an early lunch, at a time when he knows she won’t be there. He sits in one of the more secluded booths, towards the back of the diner, is halfway through his grilled cheese when Henry slides into the seat across from him. 

“You need to talk to my mom,” he says in lieu of a greeting. 

Killian frowns, pushes the basket of onion rings towards the younger boy, who eagerly takes one. 

“We’re not exactly on speaking terms at the moment, Lad.”

“That’s why you need to speak to her. She’s miserable and grouchy and taking it out on us. So, whatever happened, please just apologise.”

“Why should I be the one to apologise?” Killian asks, affronted.

“Because she’s stubborn.”

They finish his meal in silence while Killian considers this. It’s no secret that Emma is the most stubborn person either of them have ever met, but part of him had hoped that she wouldn’t let that get in the way of their relationship. 

“Okay,” he says, leaning forward almost conspiratorially. “What do I need to do?”

Henry grins now, rests his arms on the table.

“How do you feel about grand romantic gestures?”

Killian eyes the boy warily, seems to realise he doesn’t really have much of a choice if he wants to speak to Emma anytime soon.

“Go on.”

“Like in the movies we’ve been watching. You could sing to her, or run after her in an airport, or meet her at the top of the Empire State Building.”

“Not bloody likely,” Killian scoffs. “And _what_? Why can’t I just tell her how I feel?”

Henry shrugs, clearly displeased that he’s not willing to build Emma a house or run across a bloody baseball field just to tell her he loves her. 

“Fine,” Henry concedes. “But do it in the rain. Rain is always romantic.”

 

So that’s how he finds himself waiting outside the Sheriff’s station later that day, soaked to the skin, teeth chattering with cold. Henry had assured him that Emma had been working today, but it’s twenty minutes after the time she usually finishes, and Killian isn’t sure how long he’s expected to stand out here in the pouring rain. Henry had been most pleased at the weather forecast.

Luckily Emma comes out within the next ten minutes because, let’s face it, he would have waited all night for her. 

She freezes when she sees him, turns to David and says something he can’t quite make out. David nods, eyes narrowed at Killian, and reluctantly gets into his car. He doesn’t drive away and Killian wonders how committed she is to this fight. 

“What are you doing here?” Emma asks, arms folded defensively across her chest. “And how long have you been standing in the rain?”

“Rain is romantic,” he says, equally defensive, despite how ridiculous he sounds. 

“What?”

Killian lets out an annoyed huff, rolls his eyes as he closes the distance between them. He counts it as a win when she doesn’t take a step back.

“Your boy, Henry - he told me rain is romantic and that I needed to do a grand romantic gesture in order to win back your affections.” 

He’s blushing now, subconsciously brings his hand up to rub his neck - a nervous tick she had once admitted to finding adorable. 

( _Adorable?_ He had demanded as her lips ghosted over his. _I’m a bloody pirate._ She had laughed at that, their breath mingling together. 

_I know_ , she had answered. _An adorable pirate._ Then she had kissed him so enthusiastically that all he could do was kiss her back.) 

“So I’m here to tell you that I’m sorry and that I love you. Most ardently.”

“Most ardently,” Emma mouths, brows furrowed. And he can tell the moment she realises where she’s heard that before, because her face softens and her lips turn up at the sides, as though she is trying not to laugh at him. 

“You don’t need to apologise,” she tells him, stepping closer and reaching up to wipe a drop of rain from his brow. He had almost forgotten it was raining, so worried he had been that Emma would turn him down instantly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” 

She doesn’t meet his eyes, focuses instead on her hands, which are now resting against his chest. 

“I was mad about my parents lying to me and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

Killian cups her face, brings his hook up to rest on her hip. “And I let my insecurities get the better of me. I know you trust me and I know how difficult it must have been for you to open up to me.”

“Jesus,” Emma mutters under her breath, looks up to meet his gaze and he notices her eyes are filled with tears. “Next time we get in a dumb fight about nothing at all, remind me how stupid I’m being a lot sooner than this, because I’ve really missed you.”

He laughs softly and, if she ever asks, he’ll tell her that his face is wet from the rain. He holds her close and kisses her hard, relishing the way her hands are desperately tugging at his hair. 

A horn beeps from across the parking lot (Emma will put any money on it being David) and they pull away breathlessly, foreheads touching. 

“We should go,” Emma says softly. She tugs lightly on his shirt, raises one eyebrow suggestively. “Get you out of these wet clothes.”

He gives her one last kiss, links their fingers together. 

“Back to the loft?” He asks eagerly as they make their way to the car. He’s still not convinced that David isn’t going to run him over if he gets too close, but he’s missed Emma enough that he’s willing to take that risk. “Ship’s freezing,” he grumbles. 

Emma laughs loudly, bumps his shoulder with hers. 

“As you wish.”

Killian stumbles ever so slightly and she smiles up at him bashfully. They had watched The Princess Bride a couple of weeks before, and the way she is still smiling, cheeks flushed, makes him think she knows exactly what she said. 

Emma links her arm through his, rests her head on his shoulder and, if the look David is giving him is anything to go by, Killian thinks she might just love him too.


End file.
